By Dennis Rodkin

A fixture of South Michigan Avenue's historic "cliff wall" - and the former world headquarters of Encyclopaedia Britannica - is going condo. Known today as Metropolitan Tower, the building, at 310 South Michigan Avenue, was designed in 1924 by the architectural firm Graham, Anderson, Probst & White as the headquarters of the investment firm S.W. Strauss & Co. "People like to say, 'They don't build them like this anymore," says Louis D. D'Angelo, the president of Metropolitan Properties of Chicago. "Well, this one was built so well, they never built them like this." The 30-story building - which is crowned by a 40-foot-tall pyramid and a blue beacon - will have six townhouses on its second and third floors and 238 condominiums occupying the remaining stories. Prices run from $300,000 for a 762-square-foot one-bedroom unit to $1.365 million for a 1,932-square-foot three-bedroom. Reconfiguring the layout for condos left small pockets of space at the rear of 15 floors. D'Angelo is selling these spaces, priced at $48,500 for 322 square feet, to buyers who want to set up a separate guest room, office, or party room.

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